


cherry turnovers and chocolate eclairs

by historiologies



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Ficmix, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, and they were ROOMMATES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historiologies/pseuds/historiologies
Summary: A way to a boy's heart is through his stomach.At least, it worked for Soonyoung. Joshua's taking a leaf from his book.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102
Collections: SAGC Ficmix 2020 🥰





	cherry turnovers and chocolate eclairs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kenkajoutou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenkajoutou/gifts).
  * Inspired by [coffee, sugar, instant love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138594) by [kenkajoutou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenkajoutou/pseuds/kenkajoutou). 



> dearest ira, i hope you enjoy this!! writing josh is hard but i'll do it for you :) ily, be safe, be healthy!! you're the best!!

Whenever Joshua thinks of food, he thinks of home. He thinks of the smell of his mother’s kimchi, the chocolate cake slices he and his father liked to grab on the way home from doing the groceries, the mashed potatoes and cranberries during Thanksgiving dinners. He thinks of the creampuffs his neighbor used to make that they’d send over their way, the barbeque he and his friends would have on the 4th of July, the pies he’d have at restaurants they eat at for special occasions. He thinks of the smells, the tastes, the memories of his eighteen years condensed into different, recognizable plates that give him joy, give him strength, give him comfort.

South Korea is the country of his heritage. It’s where his parents’ parents come from, and it’s not home, not the way he’s used to. The weather changes earlier, the streets are arranged in a more linear way, and the air feels drier and less humid. The language fits strangely around his mouth, and he sounds like a different version of himself — smaller, meeker, somehow. He tells his mother all about the warm stews, the barbequed pork, the _banchan_ he puts on top of his rice, and relates it all to the food he used to eat in California. He misses it terribly, almost as much as he misses her.

Whenever Joshua thinks of the food he has in Korea, he thinks of it as food he has in Korea. But not home, never home.

—-

Joshua hears the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut, but only lifts his head when someone enters his bedroom.

"Shua?"

Seungcheol is filling up the space in the frame of the room, leaning against the door jamb with concern etching his face, looking like he's trying to figure out what he wants to say exactly. It makes Joshua feel just a bit antsy. Self-consciously, he coughs a little before tugging at the edges of his sweater.

“Hey. Is something wrong?” He tries his best. He's been in Korea for a little over two years now and the difficulty in expressing exactly what he wants to say still trips him up sometimes.

Joshua tries not to show how his heart jumps when Seungcheol eases in and closes the door behind him. It's not that Seungcheol isn't a good guy -- far from it. He's one of the nicest people Joshua has met ever since deciding to go to university here, plus he grew up with his cousin, which means he's always _been_ a decent guy. There's no reason for him to be as nervous as he is, and yet he is, because Seungcheol has the kindest smile he's ever set eyes on, and a tendency to be incredibly gullible, which he finds endearing. It's kind of a killer combination for Joshua, one he's stopped questioning long ago.

Jeonghan thinks he's whipped, and because he's Joshua's closest friend at school and the most dangerous person he knows in Korea, he only responds to that with a quick smack to the back of the head.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Seungcheol says -- his words are soft and careful, and Joshua appreciates it more than he thinks he lets on. "Soonyoung's come up from downstairs. He's upset. Really upset."

"Oh no," Joshua says, and pushes back from his desk, moving to get up. Soonyoung is one of Seungcheol and Vernon's friends from back home, and he lives in the apartment a few floors below the one he, Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Minghao are sharing with a few of their other friends. He met Soonyoung and the others when they were freshmen last year, and he'd always seemed so bright and sweet, always asking Joshua over to test out his new wares. He loved to bake, Joshua knew, and he did it whenever he was happy or upset or sad, so the fact that he was too emotional to be at the oven right now struck Joshua as a situation. A Wonwoo situation. "Where is he now?"

"With Jeonghan, on the couch," Seungcheol replies; he sighs and rests a hand on Joshua's shoulder, stopping him from leaving the room. "Let's give Hannie five minutes before coming in as reinforcements."

Joshua purses his lips, but nods anyway. Jeonghan would know how to handle the situation better than either of them; he's known Soonyoung longer than Joshua has and Seungcheol has more often been associated with Wonwoo than Soonyoung, because of all the gaming that they do, and might upset Soonyoung unintentionally even more.

"Is it...?"

Seungcheol shrugs, before ambling over to the bunk bed Joshua shares with Minghao. He stretches out onto the bed, grabbing at one of the neat, navy blue cushions and Joshua's heart tries not to flutter.

Instead, he heaves an almighty sigh. "I just fixed the bed, you know."

The wink he gets from Seungcheol makes him want to push him down onto the mattress to ruin the covers even more. "I know."  


Joshua rolls his eyes, but the tips of his mouth curve upward of their own accord. "I hope it's not too bad that it ruins their friendship." He sits back down onto his desk chair and leans forward, perching his chin on his hand. "That would suck. It would be so hard for them to live together."

Seungcheol sighs, burrowing his cheek onto the pillow even more. Joshua vaguely wonders if it will smell like him tonight. "It's not just that. They have to both be on the same page about how they feel about each other. They have to _talk_."

"Why haven't they?" It's criminally obvious to even an outsider with no knowledge of their history like Joshua that Wonwoo and Soonyoung have feelings for each other. He'd sensed it a few months after they met, when he'd come over to their apartment to give Jihoon his notes from a previous class that Jihoon was now taking. When he'd opened the door, he'd spotted the two of them taking a nap on the couch, heads bent together and touching at the temple, like two magnetic Troll dolls that could not be separated.

It was cute. He'd said as much to Jihoon at the time. Jihoon had just rolled his eyes at him, saying that he should try _living_ with them.

The laugh that Seungcheol barks out is childish and, unfortunately, adorable. "It's because Soonyoung avoids talking about his feelings like the plague and Wonwoo is regretfully oblivious." He lifts himself and pulls his knees up, looking thoughtful. "Soonyoung tries to put his feelings into the things he bakes, and Wonwoo thinks that since Soonyoung bakes for everyone, he's not special to him."

It makes Joshua's head hurt, and his heart sigh. "That sucks. And no one's tried just sitting them down and telling them to talk to each other?"

Seungcheol chuckles. "We've all had our share of conversations convincing them, but both of them won't listen unless they hear it from the other." His gaze turns thoughtful as he turns to look at Joshua. "After all, you don't want to believe it unless you hear it straight from the person, right?"

"I... suppose," Joshua says, nodding quietly. Who is he to even be exasperated at either of Wonwoo or Soonyoung, when he's pining for his own roommate? Even when Jeonghan tells him to give it a chance, confessing has never been something that crossed his mind, mostly because he didn't see the point in trying to pursue anything serious. He was going home after he got his degree anyway, because Korea was great, but Korea was not home.

And that, Joshua thinks, watching Seungcheol stand up to peek through the door to see if it was safe for him to go out, settles everything.

—-

When Joshua knocks on the door of apartment 9C, he’s not expecting the person who answers the door.

“Oh, hi Wonwoo,” he greets, familiar enough with the boy to give him a wave instead of a bow. "Is Soonyoung here? He asked me for some notes from my Lit class that he's taking now." He raises a folder containing neatly lined-up piles of paper he's carrying. "I just thought about bringing it down today since I'm home for the day."

"Ah, Shua-hyung," Wonwoo greets him, before stepping back in a silent invitation for him to come in. "Soonyoungie's stepped out but he should be back in awhile. He forgot to return a library book and today's the due date." He rolls his eyes at Joshua, but the pink splotches of color on his cheeks tell Joshua about the abject fondness he feels talking about his longtime friend, now boyfriend. "Typical."

Joshua wouldn't know, but he chuckles nonetheless. "It does sound like him." They're still standing around the entrance of their apartment, which looks more or less like Joshua's own apartment, except not — there's a lingering smell of butter and bread in the air, and there's a haphazardly placed bulletin board with the four tenants' schedules and random post-its about chores and grocery lists that seems like it's _theirs_ , not split four-ways between four different people. It's not something that makes Joshua feel bad — he's way too particular about the things that are his — but it's just... different. It's the mark of four childhood friends who are used to sharing their lives together, so easy with and around each other.

It's sweet, in a way. He thinks about his friends from home, and feels a slight pang in his chest. He misses it at the most inopportune moments.

Wonwoo makes a sound of assent, before leading Joshua to the little round table that served as their all purpose study/dining table. "You're welcome to wait here, if you want. I'm just studying." He gestures at the other rooms, empty. "Jihoonie's got class and Junnie's meeting Minghao somewhere for coffee."

Because it's Wonwoo, and they're comfortable, Joshua decides to wait. He sits at the chair opposite Wonwoo and perches his elbow on the table, watching as Wonwoo pulls the laptop and the cup of steaming black coffee towards himself. "Sure, yeah. I need to explain some stuff to him about this anyway." He notices the plate of eclairs on the table. "Did Soonyoung make these?"

"Mmm," Wonwoo hums as confirmation, before nudging the plate in Joshua's direction. "Have some. He pulled them out of the oven just before leaving." Wonwoo picks one up and bites into it, a deep sigh following after a few seconds of chewing. "Oh, it's a good batch. I'm glad. He's been working on this awhile and he'll be happy to know he's done a good job on this recipe."

The proud little smile on Wonwoo's face warms Joshua's insides. "You guys are cute," he teases the other boy.

Wonwoo realizes he's stopped just short of waxing poetic and blushes even more. "Sorry, _hyung_. You should stop me."

"Don't be sorry," Joshua says, waving a hand before reaching forward and grabbing an eclair off the plate. He takes a bite. "Oh wow, you're right. This is really good." He means it. He's not one for sweets, but the way the chocolate just pours out of the delicious, flaky bread has him holding back inappropriate sounds.

"You should tell him that later," Wonwoo says, in the quiet, gentle way that he uses when he really means something. Joshua hasn't known Wonwoo for very long, but underneath all the teasing and jabs he gets in when the whole group is together, he's a warm, insightful and caring boy. He's never made Joshua feel left out, even if his Korean is passable at best, and they can spend a lot of time in the quiet together and it doesn't feel weird, not at all.

He thinks about the moments of stilted silence with Seungcheol, not because of anything the other boy's ever done, but because of him and the feelings he's quietly harboring for the other. It sucks. He just wants things simple.

A doe-eyed man who gives the warmest, most comforting hugs is definitely the farthest thing from simple.

“Hello? Earth to _hyung_?”

Startling at Wonwoo’s remark, Joshua shakes his head. “Sorry, Wonwoo-yah, I got distracted.”

The other raises his eyebrow before taking a big bite of the eclair he’s still holding. “Anything I can help with?”

Joshua’s about to decline but something pushes him to say, instead: “Can I ask you something?”

Wonwoo blinks once, twice, before nodding. “Of course, _hyung_. What do you want to know?” He’s always been like this to Joshua, always accommodating, always kind. He can see why Soonyoung would carry a torch for him for so long, even if he doesn’t say as much — it’s evident in the way Soonyoung watches him whenever Wonwoo’s turned away, head tilted, mouth upturned in the softest smile.

It’s equally evident in the way Wonwoo’s watched him, besotted and unapologetic, whenever Soonyoung isn’t looking either. Joshua’s only known them for a good few years but he can’t imagine being subjected to their yearning for an extended period. Before the two of them had finally confessed to each other, he wouldn’t be able to count on one hand the number of times Jihoon had come up to their place to escape the emotional tension between them.

He links his fingers together. “You and Soonyoung… how did you know you had feelings for him?”

The tips of Wonwoo's ears start burning red, and he presses his lips together, suddenly shy. “Ah,” he says, tamping down the grin curling up on his face, unbidden. “I take it Jeonghan- _hyung_ hasn’t regaled you with any of his theories then?”

He has, but he wants to hear it from Wonwoo. “Indulge me,” Joshua says instead. He watches Wonwoo nod, before standing up to get Joshua a glass of water, spending the time composing his thoughts. “Thank you.”

Wonwoo crosses his arms and tilts his head back towards the ceiling. “Honestly? I’m not really sure.” He shrugs, before looking sheepish. “The truest thing that I can say is that something in me has always loved him, almost from the day we met.”

“But… you met as kids?”

“We did,” Wonwoo says, nodding, looking thoughtful. “I don’t know when my feelings for him changed from a deep friendship to a romantic one, but I’ve always known that he was important to me. He was always… it. Someone I knew I didn’t want to live without. It’s why I always felt so bad whenever he started ignoring me. Without him next to me, I didn’t feel… right.” He ducks his head, suddenly embarrassed. “Ah, _hyung_ , don’t get me in this mood. I can be really sappy.”

“No, Wonwoo,” Joshua tells him, insistent. He’s fascinated, honestly. “It’s really… thank you for sharing this with me.” He swallows down the lump in his throat, suddenly touched. “I wasn’t there for most of it but I’m… really happy you guys sorted your feelings out. You seem happier now. More… whole.”

Wonwoo beams, and Joshua smiles back. “That’s nice of you to say, _hyung_. I only wish we’d sorted it out earlier.” He sighs, takes another eclair. “Plus, I’d be able to have had more of these.”

“I think you’ve been the person he’d been baking for even before your great confession, Wonwoo-yah,” Joshua quips, laughing when Wonwoo’s eyes crinkle in merriment. It’s easy to talk to Wonwoo. “How is it now?”

Wonwoo chews thoughtfully for awhile before answering, taking a sip from his cup. “Now, I can say I have no regrets. I can tell Soonyoung that I love him out loud, instead of keeping it in my head. I think that’s the best part. I can finally act on what’s inside me instead of keeping it in.” 

He straightens suddenly, when he hears the key being shoved into the doorknob and the door opens with a near bang. “Well speak of the devil,” Wonwoo says in a stage whisper, but Joshua can’t help but notice how his eyes brighten.

“Oh, Shua- _hyung_! You’re here! Hello!” Soonyoung comes in like a whirlwind of energy, tossing his backpack in the general direction of the couch and tugging the baseball cap off his head, only to put it back on his head after fixing the hair underneath. “Oh, you’re eating the eclairs already! How is it?” Wonwoo turns to him, and Soonyoung swoops down to give him a sweet peck on the cheek as a greeting. “Can you give me a sip of that?”

Joshua stares as Wonwoo, with stars in his eyes and a beatific grin on his face, hands over his coffee without even saying anything, and he chuckles to himself. “Hey Soonyoung, I came over to give you my notes from Comparative Lit, and then Wonwoo gave me free food.” He gave Soonyoung two thumbs up. “They’re really good, by the way!”

Soonyoung’s eyes curve happily, pleased with the feedback. “Ah, help yourself, _hyung_. I have more where that came from so you can take some up with you, if you want. I know Cheol- _hyung_ really likes them.”

His ears prick a little at the name. “Oh yeah?” he says, trying to sound casual. “Thanks, then! I won’t say no.”

“I’d be insulted if you did!” Soonyoung shoots back, but Joshua’s been around Soonyoung enough to know that the boy doesn’t mean it — he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. “Here, let me get you a container to put it in.”

“Don’t bother getting up,” Joshua says, holding a hand up. “I know where the leftover tins are. You just got in, I can go get it.” He rolls his eyes as Wonwoo tries to stand up then. “You sit down too, Wonwoo. Honestly, you’re acting like I don’t spend almost as much time here as in my apartment.” He makes his way to the kitchen before the two protest too much, opening up cabinets until he finds a small plastic container fit for four eclairs.

He makes his way back to the study table, clearing his throat before he enters the room just so he doesn’t seem like he’s interrupting anything. He isn’t — they’re only talking to each other, holding hands underneath the table — but Joshua feels like an interloper nonetheless. The way they’re looking at each other while Soonyoung regales Wonwoo with stories of what had happened to him at the library, it almost makes Joshua feel shy.

“And then the librarian looked like she wanted to give me a dressing down,” Soonyoung complains, with his lips pushed out in a sorrowful pout. Wonwoo gazes back at him adoringly, his thumb tracing patterns over Soonyoung’s knuckles. “But I told her I was sorry and I’d never do it again.”

“You’re definitely going to do it again,” Wonwoo teases him, but pokes Soonyoung’s cheek to make him smile. “You’re predictable like that.”

“If you give her some of these eclairs, she might forgive you,” Joshua quips while carefully putting in 4 pieces in the container. “They’re really, really good.”

Soonyoung purses his lips and makes his cheeks go puffy. “I’m glad you like them, _hyung_. My mom made really good ones, and I’m just trying my best.” He hums when Wonwoo puts his arms around his shoulder, leans back into his embrace. “It’s kind of like… my love language, I suppose. I put my feelings in my baking.” He gives Wonwoo a small shove, playful. “Even if this one couldn’t read the signs for years.”

“Ow,” Wonwoo complains good-naturedly. “I’ve said I was sorry, remember?”

“I’ll forgive you when I feel like it,” Soonyoung kids back, but he settles back against Wonwoo, making himself comfortable.

In that moment, Joshua yearns for something other than home.

He thinks about this all the way through explaining the notes he had in his hand to Soonyoung, through the time he tells them that he should head back, and all through the time he takes the stairs back up to his apartment and pushes the door open.

Funnily enough, the person occupying his thoughts pokes his head outside his room when he hears Joshua entering their living room. “Oh, hey!” He follows Joshua into the kitchen, not entirely different from the way a curious puppy follows their owner in search of sustenance. “What do you have there?”

Joshua tries not to startle when he feels arms wrap around his middle and a chin hook over his shoulder, tries not to give in to the temptation to turn his head, lean in and press his lips against the dimple that creases Seungcheol’s cheek. 

(He tries not to do a lot of things, but it’s not without a tinge of regret.)

“You came from the 96 line apartment? With treats?”

He hides a smile at Seungcheol’s childish, barely restrained glee. “Is that what you call it? Anyway, yes. Want one?” He pries the lid open and waits for Seungcheol to take one of the pieces, still warm.

Instead, Seungcheol drops his jaw open and peers up at Joshua, expectantly.

 _Such a puppy_ , Joshua thinks, the fondness feeling like a sucker punch in the gut. “You can be such a kid,” he mutters, but he picks up the eclair in the box, brings it up to Seungcheol to bite. “Happy?”

The resplendent smile that Seungcheol sends his way makes Joshua’s heart stop, stutter, restart.

“Thank you.”

(Over the next few days, Joshua spends a lot of time thinking about that smile, and the possibilities behind it. 

He thinks about how he’s spent all this time missing home when he realizes it’s not the place he’s missing, but that sense of belonging, of being and acceptance.

And he realizes that the closest he gets to feel that is right there, in Seungcheol’s arms.)

—-

A few days later, Joshua goes back to apartment 9C, specifically when Soonyoung is home and not returning books to the library. At first, he worries that Soonyoung will laugh at him, but instead his eyes brighten and he hustles Joshua into the kitchen to work.

When the oven timer dings and the warm, comforting smell of freshly-baked bread wafts out the door, the two of them look at each other, and Joshua finally understands what Soonyoung meant when he said that baking was a love language. Surely, the affection, the sweetness, the love that emanated from the golden brown sheen of the crust was something that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

“Soonyoung’s right,” Joshua tells Wonwoo, as he waits for his test batch to cool. “How did you miss the signs all this time?”

Wonwoo raises his hands up in the air. “Guilty as charged.” He gives Joshua a good-natured smirk. “Let’s hope _hyung_ is more observant than me.”

When Joshua blushes, Soonyoung just shoves Wonwoo out of the kitchen.

—-

He’d begged Jeonghan to pull Minghao out of their apartment even though he’d whined the whole time he’d been physically dragged out. “ _Hyung_ , my midterms,” he complained, his gripes falling on deaf ears as Jeonghan shoots Joshua a look that clearly meant _you owe me_. But then he gives Joshua a wink and wiggles his eyebrows, and Joshua is scoffing as Jeonghan shuts the door behind him.

In his hands, the plate shakes, most likely due to his nerves, and he tries not to upend the whole thing, trying to keep the few pastry pieces on the napkin. Gathering up the last vestiges of courage in his body, he straightens his back before making his way to the room Seungcheol shares with Jeonghan, and knocks.

“It’s open.”

Joshua pushes the door ajar before he changes his mind.

“Hey,” he says, before stepping in. Seungcheol’s at his desk, looking a little pale and sun-deprived from all the studying he’s been doing, but Joshua just thinks he looks like someone who could use a good hug to bolster his spirits. “Hungry?”

(“You really _are_ whipped,” Jeonghan tells him. “How come you never made _me_ treats?”

“If you deserved it, then I’d consider it,” Joshua replies placidly, before ducking the pillow thrown in his direction.)

Seungcheol’s eyes brighten at the sight of him and then the plate in his hand, in that order. “What’s that?” His jaw drops when he realizes what it is. “Are those…?”

“Cherry turnovers. I, I made them. Soonyoung helped,” Joshua says, trying not to stammer. He places the plate on the edge of Seungcheol’s desk. “You’ve been working so hard, lately. I just…” The words he’d prepared in his head vanished into smoke, and he’s left stuttering while Seungcheol looks at him with those big doe eyes he’s been lost in since they met. “Thought you would like them.”

“You made them? Not Soonyoung?” Seungcheol straightens up in his chair, staring at the plate. “For me?”

Joshua smiles. There’s a telltale blush crawling across Seuncheol’s cheeks right now, and it eases the churning in Joshua’s gut that he’s making a big mistake. Calmer now, he nods, before turning to go back out the door. 

He’s at the door when he turns back to Seungcheol, who is still staring at the plate of pastries, golden and flaky with a delicious looking red and white glaze drizzled all over it. Wonwoo had given it the seal of approval before he’d made another batch with Soonyoung to give to Seungcheol, affirming to them both that it tasted like Seungcheol’s favorite treat when he was a kid that he and Soonyoung remembered he’d always bought at Soonyoung’s parents’ bakery.The look in his eyes is awed, touched, and it gives Joshua the courage he needs to say what’s next.

“I’ve always felt a bit adrift since coming here, but you always go out of your way to make sure I feel comfortable, and it always makes me think about the best parts of home,” he says, trying his best to let the sincerity in his chest come through in his voice. "So, I just wanted to give that feeling back to you. And if you want, there’s more outside.”

He walks through Seungcheol's door and back to the kitchen, feeling almost as brave as the day he set foot in Seoul for the first time. Maybe home isn't a place, but a feeling, a goal, a person. Maybe he could build something there, in the four corners of this apartment, and maybe, just maybe, he could look forward to tomorrow, the day after, and the future beyond that. As long as he can build something solid and good, he doesn't need to fly back. 

He could be home, right where he is.

And when he hears the door open again, he smiles.


End file.
